Life With New Directions
by dreamcloud1
Summary: Sequel to 'Sunshine And Angels', Angel K has decided to stay on in the New Directions! Duets, drama and much more follow, especially when her friend Sunshine has been transferred to Vocal Adrenaline! Please review!
1. Britney Spears And Other Matters

I finally feel as though I'm settling in properly to Glee.

Even with Sunshine gone, I'm still making new friends, like Kurt and Mercedes for example. We hang out together sometimes, and talk about things. Mercedes wants to know what it's like living OS, and I ask Kurt for fashion advice. It definitely helps asking fashion-conscious gay guy for advice. I see Tina and Mike Chang around school quite often, and when I see Artie wheeling down the hallways, coloured lights flashing, we wave to each other.

Yep, you could say I'm settling in pretty well.

So on Monday, when Mr Shue asks us who Christopher Cross is, I feel pretty surprised. I have no idea, and it doesn't seem as if anyone else does, either.

"He discovered America." Brittany pipes up.

Mr Schuester begins to tell us all about easy listening, and to be honest, I'm not really tuned in. My mind is focussed on more important glee matters, like what songs we might be performing this week. Until I hear Kurt say, "This week, for the homecoming assembly, the McKinley High School glee club perform a number by...wait for it...Miss Britney Spears."

I clap my hands together in excitement. All around me, I hear many exclamations of delight, the other members thrilled that we get to, maybe, perform a song by Britney. I think back and remember to when I was about six, and Tessa was seven. We were driving home in the car on a hot summer's day, sitting in the back of the car eating chocolate chip cookies, when a Britney song came on the radio. Tess and I sang happily along to it the whole way home.

However, my thoughts are pulled back to reality when I hear Mr Shue saying, "No, no...I don't think she's a very good role model."

Rachel and Tina protest, when I suddenly hear, "I don't want to do Britney." Looking down the row of chairs, I see that the person who has spoken is Brittany. I stare at her in confusion.

"Why no Britney, Brittany?" Kurt asks, looking probably just as confused as I am.

"Because my name is also Britney Spears." she announces, staring at the floor.

Wait...what?

We all stare at her in bewilderment.

"My middle name is Susan, my last name is Pierce, that makes me Brittany S. Pierce." she explains. Brittany then goes on to explain how she feels as though she will never be as talented or as famous as Britney Spears, except all I can do is sit there in puzzlement. How on earth did she seemingly jump to that conclusion?

"Well." Mr Schue seems as taken aback as the rest of us. "It's been decided. No Britney. Sorry."

I'm disappointed, but try to hide the expression on my face. I mean, I grew up with Britney Spears. In primary school when I was about seven or eight, my friends would come round for sleepovers, which would always lead to a Britney karaoke night.

And as Mr Schue starts telling us about another easy listening artist I've never heard of, my brain tunes out again.

After I've headed back to Sunshine's house, on my own for the first time, I drop my bag in my room, and go to her room to see if she's back from Carmel High. She isn't, so for another half hour, I read an email from my parents, then type one back. I'm just sending the email off, when I hear a knock on the door.

"Come in", I call. Sunshine enters the room, looking pleased to see me. I grin at her. "Hey! How was your first day of your new school?"

Sunshine flops down onto my bed, her expression perky. "It was all right. I didn't need to audition or anything. But most of the day was spent in the auditorium rehearsing." She turns to me. "It was great. They let me sing a song, and I got a standing ovation." She smiles, and although I'm happy for her, I can't help wondering if she mostly joined Vocal Adrenaline because of the bribe Dustin Goolsby made her. "And how was McKinley?"

"Good, thanks. Brittany shocked us all in glee today by telling her that her actual name was Britney Spears." I laugh at the memory, and Sunshine joins in. "We want to do a Britney Spears number, but Mr Schue won't let us."

Sunshine shakes her head. "Don't worry, I'm sure you'll get to do one soon." She pauses for a moment, as if thinking. "But don't forget that maybe Mr Schue may have a point." Seeing my expression, she hurries on. "I didn't mean it like _that_, Angel. I mean that maybe he has a reason for not wanting to do Britney."

I start to mentally brainstorm what the reason could be, but am interrupted by Mrs Corazon calling us to dinner.

There has to be _some way_ I can get round this...


	2. A Coincidence

"Dentists? OK, come on. Surely we don't have to do a number about flossing teeth, or how great toothpaste is." I announce, the next day in glee club. At the moment, we're all seated and looking at the dentist standing at the front of the room, Carl. He's holding up little sachets of capsules, and about to explain what they are for.

"You chew this little capsule, and if there's any plaque you missed, it turns your teeth blue." He walks around the room, giving one to everybody. I closely inspect mine. Hmm, no label. This capsule could be anything. However, it seems relatively harmless. I think.

"Yes, chew away." Miss Pillsbury, the guidance counsellor claps her hands together. "Chew chew."

I unwrap mine and pop it in my mouth. It tastes relatively normal, like the usual sort of thing you get from the dentist's all the time. Rachel, Artie and Brittany are looking rather uncertain. I wonder why?

Flashing a smile, I glance round at the other glee club members. My teeth don't seem to be blue, which is good. They all seem to have relatively normal teeth...well, almost.

Rachel claps a hand to her mouth in horror. "I don't understand! I floss between classes!" I take a look at her, and see that indeed, her teeth are blue.

So are Artie's.

And Brittany's.

Oh. _That's_ why.

After glee, I gather my bags up. I'm just about to head out the door, when I see two of the club's cheerleaders heading in my direction. Feeling it would be uncivil to walk away, I stop and wait until they join me.

"Is it true that you got slushied the other day after school?" A Latina girl with dark eyes and hair demands, regarding me with curiosity. The pretty blonde girl behind her raises an eyebrow. With a pang, I wish that I was as pretty as her. Looking at both of them, I say, "Yes. That's true. Anyway, how did you find that out?"

"Word gets around." The Latina shrugs.

"I was by the lockers, and some football jocks called me a loser. I put up a verbal fight, but they threw a slushie at my head." I state dejectedly. "Not the best welcome to get when you're the new kid."

The blonde girl nods. "I've been there before, and so have most of us. Last year, when I wasn't on top, it really sucked. Having slushies thrown at you became the normal start to the day."

I can only imagine what it must have been like to be in this girl's position.

She continues. "I'm Quinn Fabray, and this is Santana Lopez. Being in Glee is great, but the kind and thoughtful treatment from the other kids? Not at all great."

_I totally agree._ "So, what do you guys want from me?" I ask.

"Well, we just wanted to tell you that you seriously kicked some ass that day." Santana says, twirling her hair. "I bet that you handled it so much better than that dwarf Berry ever did."

I smile, even though a part of me is wondering why not many people (apart from Finn and some of the others) seem to like Rachel much.

I gather some more of my books up. "Hey, I'll see you guys tomorrow, then." I wave at them as I head out the door, and they wave back.

That will be something else to tell Tessa about. I grin to myself, and make my way to Sunshine's house.

Mum, Dad and Tessa phone that evening, wanting to know all about Ohio, as usual. It's nice hearing their voices again, I must say. Dad tells me about his job, Mum fills me in on what goes on around home, and Tessa is...Tessa. She tells me about her new boyfriend, Jared.

"He owns his own _car_, Angel! Isn't that fantastic? And a couple of nights ago, we went to the movies with a bunch of his friends, and they just started acting like complete douchebags. Honestly, later Jared said that he was _so_ embarrassed. And..." She goes on for a while, and I try not to giggle. It's wonderful to hear her so happy, but I privately think that unless this Jared is going to treat her like a princess and take her out to dinner, he can forget about it.

"Anyway," she pauses for breath, "what's been happening in the New Directions so far? Are you and Sunshine enjoying McKinley?"

I hadn't told either my parents or Tessa about Sunshine transferring away from McKinley. "Actually, Sunshine transferred to another school to be in the glee club there." I explain.

"Oh Angel, I'm sorry. I thought you two were going to be in the same glee together." Tessa sounds genuinely disappointed.

"It's OK. I mean, we still get to see each other every day." I pause. "Hey Tess, guess what?" I don't even give her a chance to answer before I plough on. "Today I had a conversation with some real, live cheerleaders."

"_Non._"

"_Mais oui."_

We talk a bit more, then Tessa says goodbye and rings off. If she knew that the glee club were wanting to do a Britney number, she'd be so jealous.

Oh, I know so.

For the next couple of days, Glee meetings go on as usual. But for some reason, after going to the Carl's dentist's to get their teeth inspected, Brittany, Artie, and for some reason, Santana say that they have all had visions of Britney Spears. All while under anaesthetic. And I know that anaesthetic does sometimes make you dream about crazy things, but about Britney? Now that was coincidental.

So I'm pretty stunned to see Rachel walk through the door the the choir room wearing what I think may be a homage to Britney. Or, as she describes it to us all, 'her regular look with the volume turned up.'

Maybe the visions aren't really as coincidental as I think.

Artie is in the process of explaining it all, when Mr Schue claps his hands. "OK guys, listen up."

Kurt raises his hand, which I already know is to ask about performing a Britney number at the homecoming assembly. And of course, we all know what his answer is will be.

Except, this time, it's not what we expect.

"Yes! We're allowed to do Britney!" I exclaim to Tina happily, who claps her hands in delight. "This is quite literally a bloody miracle!"

Puck overhears, and grins at me.

"And, more than that," Mr Schue remarks, "I am going to perform with you!"

What?

No. Just no.

I discuss this idea with Sunshine back at the house, who seems to find the idea just as bizarre as I do.

"You mean, Mr Schuester is really going to perform a Britney Spears number with you?" she asks, as we're sitting in the kitchen tucking into corn chips.

I nod, biting the end off one. "Yep. You know, at my school in New Zealand, we've never had a teacher who ever joined in with us on our musical numbers."

"Really?" Sunshine puts a corn chip into her mouth and crunches it up. "It's weird. Sometimes at Carmel High when performing for Vocal Adrenaline, Dustin Goolsby will feel the need to 'demonstrate' a song to us. That could be what Mr Shuester is trying to do."

I think about this as we finish the corn chips. Maybe Sunshine has a point...


	3. Bad News

I'm pleased to say that the homecoming assembly is relatively normal. Well, the start of it, anyway.

The lights go dim, quiet grows over the audience, and Brittany begins the start of the performance. I'm dancing in the background, just behind Finn, and watching the reactions of the audience, praying that they don't start throwing things at us. Namely, slushies.

We all join in for the chorus to 'Toxic', and amazingly, the students stand up and cheer for us! Unbelievable. Except for the cheerleading coach, who looks as if she's about to blow a fuse. And a couple of students in the audience, one of who I think is Jacob Ben Israel (who I remember interviewing the glee members at the start of the year), who seems to be doing things that I'd rather not think about.

We finish the performance, ending with Mr Schue spinning around and striking a finishing pose, and all the students are actually clapping and cheering for us.

Then all hell breaks loose.

The fire alarm goes off, causes panic among everybody in the audience, and also leads to Jacob Ben Israel being trampled in the hurry to get out.

But apart from that, the performance was relatively normal.

Later that afternoon in Glee, Mr Schue addresses us all.

"Now I'm really happy that her music has inspired you all, but honestly...she's just, not us."

I sigh inwardly. Given the choice, I would much rather have done another Britney number as a group. Kurt voices my exact opinion.

Then Rachel says she has a young adult contemporary song she'd like to perform, from last week's assignment. I watch as she stands at the front of the room and makes a song dedication to Finn, who is staring at her, seeming lovestruck. Quite sweet, really.

Rachel begins the song, and I recognise it at once. A Paramore song, 'The Only Exception', which I know all the words to because I listen to it at least twice a day. And, even though I honestly don't like Rachel that much after what she did to Sunshine, she has got an amazing voice. Santana, Mercedes, Quinn and I start to sing back-up vocals, and I'm starting to think about whether or not I should perform a song next week.

Maybe not a Britney one, though.

Well, you can't have everything.

* * *

><p>The weekend passes quickly. Sunshine and I go to the mall on Saturday, and go shopping. Mum and Dad gave me $500 American dollars for me to spend, which I know won't go very fast. I'm not a big spender. On Sunday my parents and Tessa ring, and I'm still desperately trying to find a song that I can sing for Glee.<p>

And before I know it, it's Monday.

We're all seated and ready for Mr Schue to give us the week's assignment. I'm sitting next to Quinn in the back row, which is nice, for once. Then Finn puts his hand up and walks to the front of the classroom.

"Something happened to me," he says, "and I can't really get into it, but it's shaken me to my core." I stare at him curiously, wondering what the hell this is about. From my right, I hear Puck say, "Oh my God, he's coming out," and resist the temptation to roll my eyes. I mean, _honestly._

But that's when things take a totally different turn. "Yes, there is a man who has recently come into my life...and his name is Jesus Christ."

"That's way worse." Puck remarks.

When Finn goes on to explain his idea, it's actually not a bad one. Kurt says, "Sorry, but if I wanted to sing about Jesus, I'd go to church."

"I think it's quite a good idea." I explain. "I've never actually paid tribute to Jesus through music, but here's a chance to do something new."

"I never knew you were religious." Quinn smiles at me.

"I'm Anglican." I explain. "Angel...Anglican...get it? It's part of where my name comes from."

Mercedes and Quinn both agree that doing songs about religion seems like a good idea. Even Puck agrees with, "True spirituality, or whatever you want to call it, is about enjoying the life you've been given."

That seems reasonable.

And when he sings a rendition of, 'Only The Good Die Young,' I can't help but jump out of my seat and dance with Quinn and Mercedes in the back row of seats. I notice that Kurt doesn't look too happy, and is busy studying his phone.

_This will be something to tell Sunshine about...wonder if they have glee meetings like this at Carmel High?_ I think, as the bell rings.

I tell both Sunshine and Mrs Corazon about it at dinner that night. They both think it's an interesting concept, which leads to us talking about life after death, and where you do after you've died. That sort of thing.

I stack my dishes in the dishwasher, and go up to my room to start on my homework. Half and hour later, I've just finished my English homework, when my phone buzzes with a text. It's from Mercedes. I slide the keypad down to reply, when my brain makes sense of the words on the screen.

I read the text again. And feel something drop into the pit of my stomach.

**Angel,**

**Kurt's dad had a heart attack today.**

**D:**

I am shocked.

It's strange how a few seconds can change the mood of a day completely. All I feel now is sadness for Kurt, Finn and Finn's mum.

I just wish there was something I could do.

* * *

><p>The following day, as we all file into the choir room for Glee, Kurt is sitting alone at the front of the room, his expression sombre. As the New Directions pass him, I say softly, "I'm really sorry about you dad, Kurt," before following Tina's lead and giving him a hug. He smiles sadly at me and says, "Thanks, Angel."<p>

I move to take a seat beside Mercedes as Mr Schue walks into the room.

"Hey guys." He sounds as depressed as we all feel. "Our thoughts are all with Kurt, and I know it's hard to focus on anything else–"

Mercedes' voice from beside me interrupts him. "I've been struggling with what I want to say to Kurt all day. The song I've prepared is about turning to God in dark times." She stands and makes her way to the front of the room. "Tina, Quinn and Angel, would you help me out, please?" We rise from our seats and come to stand behind Mercedes.

Mercedes starts to sing, and I think I recognise the song from somewhere. Church, I think. When I was little, my parents, Tessa and I used to sometimes go to a late morning church service. I used to think that the best part was when I'd sometimes get to pick a song for everyone to sing, and once or twice, I'd pick this one. And doing back-up vocals, like now, is like relieving that memory over again.

Together, we finish the song, and everyone claps. Then Kurt speaks.

"Thank you Mercedes. Your voice is stunning, but I don't believe in God."

"Wait...what?" Tina is halfway back to her seat.

He goes on to explain that he thinks God is like Santa for adults. But then again, nobody can prove that there isn't a God...right? I don't know.

Kurt ends the discussion by saying that he appreciates our thoughts, but doesn't want our prayers, and walks out of the choir room.

I break the silence that follows by saying, "Everyone, we have to do something for Kurt and his dad. We can't just sit here and not do anything."

"But Angel, he doesn't want us to do anything." Rachel turns to glance at me.

I turn around to face the rest of the glee club. "Well, that's besides the point, because we're going to do something _anyway._ And I have an idea."


	4. One Of Heaven's Angels

**Hi there everyone...I hope you are having a good day reading (and reviewing!) this story! For all the songs I add to the story, I shorten them so it doesn't make the story go on too long, also for the song below (Teardrop, by Massive Attack) I'm actually not sure what it means but this is just my interpretation of it. :)**

My idea is the reason why, the next day after school, Quinn, Mercedes, Finn, his mother Carole, Rachel and I are in the hospital, sitting or standing next to Burt Hummel's bed. I decided that even though Kurt may not believe in God, we can still pray. This time, through song. Quinn has already performed her song, 'Note To God'.

"Your turn, Angel." Rachel passes me her stereo with a half smile. I take it from her. "Thanks. The song I'll be doing may sound a bit depressing, but it isn't. To me, it's kind of like a prayer." I put the CD in the stereo, shut the top and press play. As the music fills the room, I take a deep breath and look at Burt, lying there in the hospital bed.

_Love, love is a verb,_

_Love is a doing word_

_Fearless on my breath._

_Gentle impulsion,_

_Shakes me makes me lighter_

_Fearless on my breath._

_Teardrop on the fire,_

_Fearless on my breath._

_Nine night of matter,_

_Black flowers blossom_

_Fearless on my breath._

_Black flowers blossom,_

_Fearless on my breath._

_Teardrop on the fire,_

_Fearless on my breath._

I end the song, and look sadly at Burt again.

"That's a beautiful song." Carole says. "What does it mean?"

I think for a few seconds before answering. "To me, it means that love exists in the real world. Not just mentally and emotionally, it's all around us, and nobody is afraid to say 'I love you' to someone. Sometimes, darkness can 'blossom' into areas of life, but then again, it's a part of life. Sort of like, a person's life cycle is in God's hands, and he decides how long or short it's going to be. And we're all praying that Burt recovers and lives to have a long life." In the moment of short silence that follows, I hurry on. "Rachel, your turn."

I take my CD out and hand the stereo back to Rachel. Her song is 'Papa, Can You Hear Me?' which sounds more like a prayer. While she's singing, I wonder if God can hear us, wherever he may be.

I hope so.

Rachel finishes the song, and turns to look at us. "Who's next?" Mercedes hasn't gone yet, but before she can say anything, the door swings open and Kurt stands there, an angry expression on his face.

Mercedes explains what we're doing. "Rachel, Quinn, Angel and I are taking turns to pray for your dad."

Carole tries to make him see reason. "Friends help out even when you don't ask."

But Kurt is still angry. A Sikh woman has come into the room, arranging silver instruments of different shapes and sizes on the bedside table, and it's only too clear that our prayers through song aren't wanted here any more.

That evening, my parents ring, and I tell them about the situation.

"Oh honey, that's a wonderful idea." I know that my mum would approve straight away. "Doing that for Burt would make Kurt a lot happier, I'm sure, knowing that friends cared enough to pray for him."

"Well, yes." I say uncomfortably. Sometimes it's better to keep quiet about some things.

We talk a bit more, then say our goodbyes and hang up. I stare out the window and think about what my mother had said. It should make Kurt happier...but he doesn't believe in God.

The next day in Glee, Kurt stands up in front of the room, and tells us that his father's condition is still the same, before telling us a story about when he was younger. When his mum passed away, and when he and Burt went to visit her grave. It's so sad that I want to cry.

But I can't.

It's strange how some songs fit just like _that_, into one of life's moments. And also how holding someone's hand can also bring a sort of great comfort to another person, even though it's a small and simple gesture.

This song is one of them.

And all we can do is wait and hope and pray for Burt to get better.

A couple of glee meetings later, and Finn is suddenly singing about..._losing_ faith?

"Finn, weren't you the one who started this whole thing about religion?" I ask curiously.

"I thought that God was up there looking over me...but now I'm not so sure." Finn remarks.

It seems like nobody is sure about anything lately.

On Monday, we all get the news.

It's easy to tell what's happened.

Kurt bursts through the door into the choir room, and the smile on his face is enough to light up an entire city.

"He's going to be all right." he says breathlessly, grinning. "My dad came our of his coma yesterday, and in a couple of days he can come back home."

Everyone starts applauding like crazy, smiles on all of our faces, including Mr Schue.

Kurt takes a seat in the back row next to Mercedes and I. And I can't help myself, I lean over and give him a hug. He hugs me back, tightly. Mercedes smiles at us.

"God works in mysterious ways." I say, as we pull apart.

He nods, beaming at me. "I agree."

Now, we're all standing in the auditorium on the stage, and singing 'What If God Was One Of Us'? One of my favourite songs about religion, especially now.

Probably because I feel like one of heaven's angels...and not just because of my name.

**Well what did you think?**

**Please please review...it means so much to me, also if you tell me what you want to happen next in the story, or what you like/don't like then that would be great!**


	5. Drama And Duets

Mr Schue walks into the choir room the next day, looking tired. And he's late, which is a pretty weird thing. He's never late to our glee meetings.

"Bad news, guys." he sighs, sitting on a chair at the front of the room. "Puckerman's in juvie. He drove his mum's Volvo through the front of the convienience store, and drove off with the ATM."

I roll my eyes. Honestly, of all the stupid things to do. Around me, most of the other glee members are finding it pretty hilarious.

"This is an opportunity for us." Mr Schue is now saying, getting up out of his chair.

_An opportunity for what?_ I think. _Us to be ridiculed by the other kids?_

"For welcoming our new member, Sam Evans."

Next thing I know, a guy with blonde hair and clutching an astronomy textbook runs into the room. He's got a rather big mouth too, but hey, all the better for singing, right?

"Hey everyone." Sam shakes Mr Schue's hand, smiling. He seems like a nice guy. "I'm Sam. Sam I am...and I don't like green eggs and ham."

I stifle a snort of laughter.

He sits down, and the lesson continues. Duets. I've never actually sung a duet with anyone before, but at least I know what a duet is. Unlike Brittany, who seems to think that a duet is a blanket.

Mr Schuester continues, "I am making this into a competition."

"What's the winner get?" Mike asks.

"Dinner for two, on me, at Breadstix." Mr Schue answers, smiling at our exclamations of delight.

Breadstix seems like an awesome restaurant. I've never been there before, so this is even the more reason why I have to win this thing!

I wonder who I'm going to pair up with?

Hmm. Depends on who's going to ask me to go with them.

That afternoon, Sunshine and I talk it over.

"Wow. Dinner at Breadstix?" she asks, her mouth open in amazement. "Imagine if you win, that would be so cool!"

I attempt a smile. "I probably won't, though. There are so many great singers in glee." I pause for a minute. "But it won't hurt to try, I guess."

Sunshine nods. "And so far, nobody has asked you to be their duet partner?"

"No, not yet." Then I suddenly panic. "What if I can't find someone to go with?"

"Don't worry about it!" Sunshine assures. "If you can't find anyone to go with, then go solo."

I stare at her, confused. "And how the hell am I supposed to do that?"

"Just stand at the front of the room and tell everyone that you're singing the male parts as well as the female parts. Hey, I know!" Sunshine's face creases up with laughter. "You could sing the male parts in a very deep voice, and sing the female parts normally, and at the same time, have a dress and men's jacket on coat hangers. Then as you're singing each male and female part, hold the corresponding coat hangers in front of you!" She bursts our laughing.

"That's ridiculous!" I start laughing too. Finally I pull myself together. "I'll probably find someone to go with anyways." Wanting to change the subject, I ask, "So how's Carmel High going?"

Sunshine thinks for a moment. "It's all right, I guess. Most of Vocal Adrenaline rehearsal is just performing nonstop. We only get a ten minute break every hour or so. But it's fine, really. I get to shine."

A day later, and Mercedes and Santana are performing their duet for glee club. And they sound fabulous together. The song's a really catchy one, which I guess always helps if you want to win a duet competition. But even though I'm smiling and enjoying their performance, inside I feel a twinge of worry. How am I supposed to do a duet with someone if I haven't got anyone to sing with? And no, I will _not_ be taking Sunshine's idea into consideration, even though it is imaginative.

I clap hard for them once they're done, as does everyone else. Santana, if anyone, seems absolutely determined that she and Mercedes will win the Breadstix voucher.

That afternoon, I'm standing at my locker packing my books into my bag, when Kurt rushes up to me with a grin on his face. "Hey Angel, can I ask you a favour?"

"Sure. What's up?"

"I was wondering if you want to help me out with my duet for the competition? I noticed that you didn't have a partner and thought you'd like to help me out."

I beam at him. "So...you want me to help sing a duet with you?"

He shakes his head. "No."

I must have looked disappointed, because he rushes on. "I'm going to do a duet by myself, and I need some people to help me with the back-up performance. Namely, I need you to and some of the Cheerios and glee clubbers to do back-up dancing."

"Oh." I smile hesitantly at him. "Well in that case, I'd love to help you out!"

Kurt smiles back at me and claps his hands in excitement. "Great! I'll tell you when we rehearse, then!"

"Wait!" I call after him. Kurt stops and turns back round to face me. "Weren't you partnering with Sam?"

He nods. "I was. But we decided not to go together in the end, due to unforeseen circumstances."

With that, he heads back down the corridor, swinging his bag from his shoulder.

The next day, after a practice in the choir room with Mike, Brittany, Tina and some of the Cheerios, we're ready to perform our duet to the glee club. Well, technically it's Kurt's duet.

"Who are you going to sing a duet with?" Mr Schue asks.

"Only the most talented member of the glee club. Myself." Kurt remarks. He pauses, then adds, "With a little help from Angel."

I grin at him and rise from my seat to join him at the front of the room, while he continues. "I've also asked some members of the glee club, as well as some Cheerios to help me out."

The next thing we know, we're all on stage in the auditorium; the rest of the dancers and I in freeze frames, and Kurt beginning to sing the introduction. I've always loved dancing. In New Zealand, I take dance lessons once a week, however I've never really performed in such a 'jazzy' setting before. Next minute, Kurt throws off the long white cloak he's wearing to reveal a half female, half male tuxedo, and the performance begins.


	6. The Rocky Horror Glee Show

Over the next couple of days, the duets go one. Mike and Tina perform a crazy, hilarious one, which gets everyone, including me, laughing. True, Mike can't sing, but then again, that's the whole point of their duet. For some reason, Brittany and Artie don't do a duet together. I can't think why.

And then it's Finn and Rachel's turn.

For a start, their costumes shock me. They're dressed like priests, Rachel in a dress that's, well, kinda short. But what's even worse is the song. From beside me, I hear Mercedes whisper, "This isn't happening."

Quinn looks as if she's restraining herself from leaping up and punching them both in the face.

"That was really rude." Sam remarks, at the end of the song.

"That was..._really_ rude." Tina adds.

"That was..._offensive_." I say, shocked beyond belief.

"I seriously wanted to punch both of you." Quinn says, disbelief strongly etched on her face.

Rachel and Finn both look shocked, but there's no going back now.

Then it's time for Quinn and Sam's duet.

It starts by both of them playing Sam's guitar, which I think is quite cool. I used to want to learn the guitar all the time when I was younger, but I couldn't really be bothered to take lessons. _They sound amazing together,_ _they're easily going to win._

But then again, so could Mercedes and Santana.

Or Mike and Tina.

Maybe even Kurt, including the other dancers and I.

I suddenly notice something. Hmm..._they seem to have more going than just a duet, _I think. _Wait a minute...they're holding hands!_

Ther_e's _definitely more going on than a duet.

The song finishes, and we clap enthusiastically. Sam and Quinn look sort of self-conscious, but seem pleased with how they went.

The next day is Friday. Voting time.

I hope Kurt and I win. Well, even though I didn't actually sing anything, I did help out. Given that he gives me a secret nod and wink as we sit down I take that as a yes.

Mr Schue gives out the pieces of voting paper, with an airy, "Now guys, no peeking at anyone else's votes, just your own!" I wonder if it's too selfish to write down my own name. _Well, I want to win, so it's one step closer! _I think, as I write down our names. Deliberating for a minute, I draw a pair of wings and a halo around my name, for good luck.

But I don't need the luck in the end.

Quinn and Sam win, by two votes. I'm genuinely happy for them, but I can't help but feel a tiny twinge of disappointment. Oh well.

Santana leaps up out of her seat in disbelief, and is pulled back down by Mercedes. Rachel stutters, "Unbelievable...I don't know how this happened." Glancing back at Santana, I see she is now being comforted by Mercedes.

Sam and Quinn look pretty happy though.

As a seemingly final touch to the end of the week, Rachel and Kurt perform a duet together. 'Happy Days Are Here Again'. Opposites attract, or maybe they aren't so different after all. Right now, they seem like pretty good friends, but I know a couple of weeks later, they will probably be fighting each other for solos.

After glee, Quinn and Sam walk up to me, Quinn pulling something out of her bag. Before I get a chance to speak, Quinn cuts in.

"Hey Angel, we have something for you." She hands me a piece of white card, and I don't register what it is until I've turned it over.

It's the Breadstix voucher.

I'm stunned, glancing at them, shocked. They're both watching me with small smiles on their faces.

"But–" I stammer, floundering for words. "It's yours. You guys should have it, you won it."

"We decided to give it to you, because you've never been to Breadstix before." she adds, shrugging. Sam nods, grinning. "Also you could take a friend along, or something. We've already been, in case you were wondering."

"Thank you both so much!" I smile, delighted.

That night, I take Sunshine and Mrs Corazon out to Breadstix. Mrs Corazon insists that she pays for her own meal, and that nothing I can say will change that. So we sit down in a squashy red booth by the window, and we all talk and laugh together about our schools, and glee, and life in general.

And it may seem cliché, but I feel like happy days are indeed here again.

The Rocky Horror musical show passes without too much incident, I'm pleased to say. At first it startles me. I have no idea what it's all about, because I've never seen the Rocky Horror Picture Show before. Of course, when Rachel mentions that she and Finn will play Brad and Janet, I have no doubt that they are the main characters of the show. However, I have no idea what role I'm going to be playing. Mr Schue has just said that we'll have to double up on Columbias and Magentas, whoever they may be.

"Angel," Mr Schue calls, flipping through his notes. "I was wondering if you'd want to perform as a cross between Columbia and Magenta, as we have more than enough females to play both parts."

"Oh." Meaning that I'm the only one that won't get to find a part to play. But it sounds good. "Sure." I say. Mr Schue looks relieved.

The first song practice we do is 'Dammit Janet', between Finn and Rachel. I mean, Brad and Janet. I sit next to Tina in the back row, both of us reading through the song. Kurt, Mercedes and Quinn are the back-up dancers and singers. It seems to be going fine at first, however halfway through the song, the cheerleading coach (who Tina whispers is Coach Sue Sylvester) gestures she wants a word with Mr Schue outside. And she doesn't look very pleased about something.

The day after, Mr Schue tells us that Coach Sylvester will be 'helping' with the musical. I'm beginning to think that this is a bad idea, as I've heard from Artie and Santana that she is always trying to destroy the glee club for some reason. Mr Schue also seems to be sharing his directing role with Miss Pillsbury, who has brought along the dentist, Carl, again. I'm secretly hoping that he doesn't make us all have dental appointments or anything. But, judging by Santana, it looks like she wouldn't mind.

And honestly, how many dentists can sing and dance? Carl performs a song called 'Hot Patootie' that all has us getting us out of our seats and dancing round the choir room. I dance with Brittany and Santana, who don't seem to mind. Miss Pillsbury seems overjoyed that Carl is auditioning for Rocky Horror. Mr Schue doesn't look too happy.

"No no no, this will not do." Coach Sue shakes her head. "For this musical to continue, we need a Frank-N-Furter, not an Eddie."

Mr Schue agrees with her. "You want to play in our sandbox? Sing a Frank-N-Furter number."

The way he says it, it makes me think that he doesn't like Carl much at all.

Mercedes manages to settle the dispute by asking to play Frank-N-Furter. I nod at Mr Schue, in agreement. Coach Sue gives Mercedes and Carl their respective parts, and we all applaud. Mercedes looks pretty excited.

That evening, I email my parents, filling them in about the musical. I don't think they've ever seen it, so they wouldn't know what it's about. To be honest, neither do I, much. They both want to know how I'm going in Ohio, what my new friends are like, what the weather is like. Tessa emails me, too, to tell me about how she and her boyfriend Jared have broken up. I email back and offer her the few words of wisdom I can think of, plenty more fish in the sea, that sort of thing. Tess also wants to know all about Rocky Horror. Is it a horror musical, and are all the characters glamorous and exciting? I have a feeling that she wouldn't believe me if I said that I only had a vague idea what it was about...


	7. MashUp

The next dress rehearsal we have is, eventful, to say the least. Mercedes, as Frank-N-Furter, sings 'Sweet Transvestite', with the Columbias, Magentas, Riff Raff and I dancing back-up. As a cross between Columbia and Magenta, I'm wearing a Columbia style wig and red hat, but a wide black and white dress, the the one Santana's wearing at the moment. My appearance looks interesting, but then, so does everyone else's.

We've just finished the number, crouching by the lift as Mr Schue and Emma clap their approval, when Carl crashes through the styrofoam wall on a motorbike.

"Now _that's_ an entrance." I hear Miss Pillsbury say, smiling down at Carl.

"I thought he wasn't meant to come on until the dinner party bit." I whisper to Brittany, who looks confused. Mr Schue is voicing my exact thoughts, looking rather unenthusiastic.

After the rehearsal has finished, I'm just about to go and take my costume off when I hear Coach Sue's voice call my name. Slightly nervous as to what she might say, I venture hesitantly towards her.

"Coach Sylvester, I really don't know what–" I begin, but her voice cuts me off.

"Now Angelfish, as you may or may not know, originally, my rewrites didn't include a half Columbia and half Magenta character. However, then I realised that there wouldn't be a role for you. And after seeing you perform your dance number with the others, tapping your little heavenly toes, I thought that you actually did a good enough job of it."

"Um...thanks, Coach." I still have no idea what she wants with me.

"And even though I am in need of long, long hours of what you like to call 'fun', after watching from a distance what must be the most boring dress rehearsal ever seen, I must admit that you did an all right job there. Keep it up." She smiles, and walks away, leaving me standing alone on stage.

"This play is terrible." Coach Sue sits in an armchair on stage, a pen in one hand, clipboard in the other. Mr Schue is having to play Finn, as for some reason, Finn isn't here, and the way he keeps adding, "Finn's line!" before every sentence isn't helping much. To cap it all, the cast on stage have had to rehearse the same scene for about four times.

Yeah, not your tip-top dress rehearsal.

"I'm so bored, I just fell into a microsleep." Sue scribbles something down on the paper.

"Janet!"

"Doctor Scott!"

"Brad!"

"Rocky!"

"None of this is plausible!" Sue retorts. "It has incredible pacing problems."

Before there is a chance to do much else, like go on with the rehearsal, Principal Figgins appears in the auditorium. "William, I'd like to see you in my office, please."

_Now what?_ I think, as I watch him stride away, Mr Schue following.

"So what did Coach Sue want with you yesterday?" Quinn wants to know, as the cast on stage resume their rehearsal.

"She just wanted to tell me how...well I was doing as a half and half character." I whisper in reply. "It was weird. I thought she was going to kick me out of the musical or something."

Quinn shrugs, and we continue to watch the practice.

At the end of the week, Mr Schue sits us down and explains that he thinks Rocky Horror isn't really a suitable musical for us to perform. I'm sort of disappointed, we worked really hard for something that we're now not going to show off. However, he goes on to tell us that back in his time, Rocky Horror was for outcasts, for people to feel like they belonged.

Sounds familiar? Of course it does, even for me.

But Mr Schue has a surprise for us. "We're still going to be doing the musical, just not for anyone else. We're doing it for ourselves."

Mr Schue has us perform 'Time Warp' in the auditorium, with everyone in their costumes. I'm in my half Columbia/Magenta gear with a few changes. I'm wearing Quinn's pink wig with a Columbia outfit.

We form into a line for Columbia's solo. Brittany, Tina and I are all singing a part.

_Well I was walking down the street,_

_Just a having a think_

_When a snake of a guy gave me an evil wink,_

Brittany tap-dances along the line towards Tina.

_He shook-a me up, he took me by surprise_

_He had a pick up truck and the devil's eyes,_

Tina steps out of line and dances towards me, near the end of the line between Kurt and Artie. Time for my part.

_He stared at me and I felt a change,_

_Time meant nothing, never would again!_

As we finish the song, one by one, we fall on the ground. Mr Schue applauds, smiling at us.

Sounds like Rocky Horror was a pretty good musical to perform in the end.

The weekend passes as normal as it should. Sunshine and I watch movies, talk, hang out, and I email my parents and sister. Before I know it, with a jolt, I realise I've been here about nearly two months. Time flies when you're away from home, and having a lot of fun.

The next week, glee starts off with Puck rejoining the club, more 'badass' than ever, as he puts it. Also, Mr Schue reads out the competition for Sectionals. The 'Dalton Academy Warblers', from an all-boys private school, and a group called 'The Hipsters', made up of elderly people.

"However are we supposed to compete against a bunch or adorable old people?" Mercedes asks, looking puzzled.

Puck, however, has other ideas. "Are you kidding? Give one of those old ladies a good luck pat on the rear it will shatter her pelvis."

"Now." Mr Schue continues. "This week, we will have our second annual boys verses girls tournament."

I clap with excitement. I have no idea what we have to do, but any chance to compete with the boys and win sounds like a pretty good idea to me!

As we split into two groups, Rachel is saying loudly, "I have some mash-up ideas already, so we can do one of those..."

"Um, ladies?" I interrupt, the glee girls turning to look at me. "What the hell is a mash-up? I've never heard of it before."

"A mash-up is a combination of two songs that come together to make one." Rachel rattles through this as if she's learned it all by heart. Knowing her, she probably has.

"Angel, if you have any ideas then we'd _love_ to hear them." I'm unsure if Santana is being sarcastic or not. "Because Berry is not the _only_ one in charge here."

"Sure." I say hastily, as Rachel gives Santana a glare. Santana looks smug.

I walk home that afternoon, attempting to think of some mash-up ideas. The trouble is, I'm not sure if some of the songs I've thought of are going to go together properly.

Both Sunshine and Mrs Corazon are in the kitchen when I walk in. I greet them, put my bag beside the table and sit down.

"How was school today?" Mrs Corazon wonders as she hands round biscuits to Sunshine and I.

"It was good, thanks." I reply, taking a biscuit from the tin. "In glee at the moment, we're doing mash-ups. It's when you put two songs together to make one."

"That sounds really cool." Sunshine adds, her expression becoming wistful. "I sort of wish we could do that sort of stuff at Carmel High."

"What sort of stuff do you do?" I ask biting into the biscuit.

"Well, we have a set amount of songs that we do per week, and then just rehearse them over yet until Dustin Goolsby deems them perfect. For our Sectionals competition coming up soon, he chooses our best songs, and we perform those."

"Oh." I've completely forgotten that I would be performing with the New Directions for Sectionals, as I have been too caught up in the mash-up idea.

"Have you got any songs in mind that you'd like to perform?" Mrs Corazon asks, sitting down with a cup of tea.

I think for a few seconds before answering. "Not really. But we'll find something."


	8. My Guardian Angel

**Hi everyone! This will be the last chapter to the story before I start a new sequel, so PLEASE review! Your thoughts and constructive criticism is always appreciated!**

**FYI In this chapter there is a Kurt/Angel friendship :)**

Finding a mash-up song to perform may be easier than we thought. Mr Schue is now explaining to us girls that we have to do songs traditionally sung by guys. And for the boys, it's vice versa. Classic rock sounds quite good, I have to admit.

That afternoon, I'm sitting in the courtyard with Rachel and Tina. Rachel is talking nonstop about the solos she's going to perform for the mash-off (of _course_), and Tina, bored with Rachel's extravagant chatter, is staring off into space. I suddenly notice a gathering of people down below on the steps, and hear the strumming of a guitar. Taking a closer look, I see that Puck and Artie are busking. _Is that allowed?_ I think. And weirdly, the students are actually enjoying it.

"What on earth are they doing?" I ask Rachel and Tina. Rachel stops talking and peers down at the crowd of people below.

"Using the combination of fear and music to get people to give them money." Tina explains. "Puck is known for that sort of thing. But Artie? He isn't."

That's strange.

Next day, the glee girls and I start making our costumes for our mash-up number. We've decided on 'Start Me Up' mixed with 'Living On A Prayer'. Rachel is actually taking a break from bossing us around, because, she states, "The idea of the assignment is to do the opposite of what we normally do." Brittany has become so involved in the activity that she is gluing the sequins of her costume on backwards.

"SPIES!" Rachel shrieks, making me jump and stab myself with the sewing needle. Muttering, "Ow," under my breath, I take a look at the 'spies', and see that it's none other that Artie and Puck.

They've come to ask Santana and Brittany out for dinner. Which doesn't really surprise me, as Puck is known as the biggest womanizer of them all. And I'm pretty sure that he's taken Artie along for the ride, too.

Our performance is scheduled for the next day, after many rehearsals after school. The rehearsals were pretty late by the time I got back, but I had told Mrs Corazon and Sunshine that I'd be staying at school quite late. Mrs Corazon offered to pick me up, which was nice.

We're all dressed entirely in black rock-chick outfits, with shiny jewellery to accessorise. Rachel is the lead singer, as always. Santana came up with the whole idea to have fans blowing our hair around, "to look authentic." What can I say? It's working, and it's going to help us win this thing, which is even better!

We finish the song, and all the guys, including Mr Schue, clap wildly. "Very, very impressive! What made you guys choose those songs?"

Before Rachel can answer, the door opens and a small, blonde-haired cheerleader runs into the room. I recognise her, Becky Jackson, who is Coach Sue's personal assistant.

"Coach said to give you this." She hands Mr Schue a note, before hurrying out of the room.

I turn to Quinn, who is looking ecstatic. "We are so going to win this thing!"

She grins at me. "I know."

The bell rings. I gather my bags up and head to my locker. The hallway becomes crowded with the usual noise of students going from place to place, talking to their friends, the football jocks shoving each other round. Swapping my books for the next lesson, I glance down the hallway and see Kurt, making his way down the hall. He's smiling at something on his phone...before it is thrown across the hallway, and he is slammed hard into a locker. My mouth opens in horror. I recognise the bully at once, he was one of the two that slushied me when I first joined glee club.

For a second, Kurt looks scared. It is replaced a second later with an expression of anger, before he takes off down the hallway, running after the football jock.

I swallow, hard. _This isn't good,_ I think as I slam my locker shut. _I'd better stick around just in case. _Spotting Kurt's phone of the floor a few metres away, I haste to pick it up for him. Looking at the screen, there is the name 'Blaine,' with the word 'Courage.'

Barely three minutes pass before I spot the bully emerging from the locker rooms. He turns the opposite way from me and heads down the hallway, walking briskly. A feeling of dread is lying in my stomach. _What did he do to Kurt?_ I wonder, as I slowly make my way down the hall. As I do so, the door swings open and Kurt walks out, slowly. He looks upset and confused. I hurry towards him.

"Kurt, I have your phone here." I hand it to him, barely hiding the worry in my voice. "What happened back there?"

Kurt takes the phone from me, sinks down to the ground, and to my horror, starts to cry.

I sit carefully on the ground and put my arm round him, not saying anything. At the moment, I'm too shocked by what the football jock has done to him, and I don't even know _what_ precisely he may have said.

Kurt stops crying, and starts to sniff, which is my cue to pull some tissues out of my bag and hand them to him. Eventually, he begins, "Kaforsky, he...he s-shoved me into the lockers, and I ran after him into the locker rooms, then..." He begins to sniff again.

An idea suddenly comes to mind. I take Kurt's phone from him and hold it up. "Who's Blaine?" I ask.

"I met him at Dalton, I was trying to spy on the Warblers but we ended up going for coffee instead." Kurt tells me, though his voice is full of tears.

"See this?" I ask him, nodding to the 'Call' button on the phone. Without letting him answer, I press it and listen to it ring. Kurt watches me in astonishment.

Suddenly a guy's voice answers. "Hello, Blaine Anderson here." I hesitate for a few seconds, not sure how to answer.

"Blaine?" I press on. "This is Kurt's friend Angel here. Do you...do you think you could come to McKinley in a bit?"

After leaving Kurt to explain the situation to Blaine, who agrees to meet us both in the parking lot, fifteen minutes later, I walk there with Kurt.

"Thanks for this. You're like my guardian angel." Kurt smiles weakly.

"No problem. Hey, is that him over there?" I point to a guy who definitely looks way out of place in his blue and red blazer and uniform. He spots us and walks in our direction.

"Blaine Anderson, this is Angel Kozanic." Kurt introduces us, and we shake hands. "He's in the Warblers."

Blaine smiles at me. "Thank you so much for what you did for Kurt."

I return the smile. "That's OK. I guess I'll leave you two now." Kurt pulls me in for a hug. "See you in glee." I say, turning to walk away. "Nice to meet you, Blaine Warbler."

I hear Blaine chuckle.

The boys perform their mash-up a couple of days after, dedicated to Coach Beiste. I have to say, she deserved it after the boys really hurt her feelings. When Mr Schue berated the glee club for it, I had no idea what he was yelling at us about. To me, the whole idea of picturing Coach Beiste in compromising positions just seems so, so _wrong._ Their mash-up is really good, which we all enjoy watching.

But the best part? Coach Beiste smiles at the end of it, which, unsurprisingly, leads to her forgiving the boys.

As the last bell rings, I walk down the corridor, when ahead of me, a bright yellow figure with matching yellow boots is shoved into the lockers ahead of me. Yep, it's definitely Kurt. When I reach him, he pulls himself into a sitting position.

"Kurt?" I bend down slightly. "Are you all right?" I offer him a hand, which he takes and hauls himself up. He turns to look at me and smiles.

"My guardian angel."

I laugh. He links arms with me, and we walk down the hallway, and out of school.

**Also I forgot to mention that the timing of events have changed a little bit in this chapter as this was the way it fitted to my liking!**


	9. No Ordinary Teacher

Have you ever noticed that some days seem much longer than others?

For me, today was one of them.

Our first New Directions meeting of the week, and Mr Schue walks into the room. "Alright guys, time to start thinking about song selections." His voice seems tired as he scribbles something on the board, and turns to face the room.

Hmm. _Mr Schue looks kinda sick,_ I think. _And why is he suddenly staring at us as if we're aliens from another planet?_

Around me, the other members of the New Directions are busy talking to each other, not really taking notice of the subject at present.

"Some day, I'm going to get a piercing and visit the Oeuvre." Brittany states.

"I just wanna dance." Mike declares, to the room in general.

"Mr Schuester, you look a little green...what do you think, Angel?" Mercedes asks, turning to look at me.

I nod. "Yeah, you do a bit."

"Um, I'm going to go and see the nurse." Mr Schue puts his whiteboard pen down, his voice sounding strangely distant. "But first I think I should get you guys a sitter."

Wait...what? Mercedes and I look at each other in bewilderment.

Mr Schue walks out of the room, and the rest of us look at one another, unsure of what to do next. Of course, it's Rachel who springs into action first. Jumping out of her seat, she strides to the front of the room, and picks up the abandoned whiteboard pen. We all watch as she writes the word, 'Me' on the whiteboard.

"Class." she declares. "I would like us to go around the room and ask everyone what solos they would like to hear me perform at Sectionals."

"What about the rest of us?" I call out, earning a disapproving stare from Rachel, and grins from Puck and Artie.

"Unfortunately, none of you are as experienced as I am in the musical world of solos–" she begins, but before she can finish, there is an uproar from the middle of the group. Santana has leaped out of her seat, shouting, "You know what, let me at it!" and also yelling something in Spanish. Sam, and half of the glee club are holding her back to prevent her from killing Rachel, or whatever.

It will probably all blow over by the time Sectionals is over.

The next glee lesson, we get told by Kurt that we have a substitute teacher. This should be quite interesting, because in my experience, some substitutes know what they're doing, or they don't.

Not willing to miss out on any of the fun, Mercedes, Tina, Artie and I all agree to swap names around. Puck is busy buttering the floor.

"Um, Puck, if the substitute breaks their arm or something, you're probably going to have to pay their medical bills." I say, just as Rachel slides on the slippery floor and falls over.

"Yes! It works!" he announces happily.

Just as Rachel sits down, the substitute walks into the room. I get the impression just by looking at her that she's no ordinary teacher. Glancing round, she slides swiftly and elegantly over the buttered floor.

"Hola, clase. Let's start with some introductions. My name is Holly Holliday. What's yours?" She snaps her fingers at Puck. "Go."

"I'm Finn Hudson, quarterback of the football team." I can't help but roll my eyes at the voice he puts on.

"I'm Rachel Berry, his loud, loud girlfriend." Santana raises her hand.

"I'm Mike Chang." Brittany states. Mike looks at her and nods his approval.

Holly Holliday doesn't believe a word of it. She continues, "I'm not your average, run-of-the-mill substitute teacher. I want us to have fun in our fabulous but fleeting time together."

A field trip to Taco Bell sounds good, even if she is joking. I laugh along with the rest of the group. Maybe having a substitute teacher will be a blessing in disguise.

However, when she asks what songs we'd like to do, we are all momentarily stumped.

"Don't get asked that question much, do you?" she wonders aloud.

Puck mentions that he'd like to do Cee-Lo Green's 'Forget You', to which Miss Holliday has no objection to. Especially not when she starts a rendition of it, which has all of us getting out of our seats and dancing round the choir room. Except for Rachel, who is sitting in her seat and is acting as if there's never anything _less_ entertaining. Mercedes, Artie and I sing back-up, and wheel Artie round the room.

We applaud when the song finishes, Miss Holliday seeming to enjoy it as much as we have.

After dinner that night, I tell Sunshine all about it.

"Wow, a substitute teacher?" she asks, her eyes wide. "And one that enjoys performing alongside you?"

I nod. "You can't not like her. She's terrific. And she actually lets us do whatever songs we want, which is great."

Sunshine listens, mouth agape. "For some reason, we almost never get substitutes, especially not for Vocal Adrenaline. I wish we did, sometimes."

When she says that, it makes me wonder if Sunshine is actually, truly happy with the choice she made to go to Carmel High.

"Where should we sit?" I look around the crowded cafeteria, with Tina, Mike, Brittany and Artie in tow.

"Over here." Tina gestures towards a table with a free hand and we sit down with our food.

"So what sort of songs do you think we'll end up doing for Sectionals?" Mike asks, unscrewing a bottle of water.

"Hopefully something that you'll be able to dance to." I say. He looks relieved. "And Tina can sing and dance, Artie–" I point to him, "you can sing and wheel yourself around on stage, and I can–" I stop, unsure.

"You can tell us what to do through song." Tina interjects, and we all laugh.

Suddenly, there is a shout of, "TOTS!" from a table near us that makes me jump. The whole cafeteria, apart from our table, begins chanting, "TOTS! TOTS! TOTS!"

I glance round the table at my friends, before standing on tiptoes to try and get a better look at the scenario. Mercedes is standing on a chair, with a sign that says, 'TOTS' written in capitals.

"It's a protest against removing the Tots from the cafeteria." Artie shouts, over the noise.

Better not for me to ask.


	10. Singing In The Rain

For once, it's nice to actually have a different sort of song performed in glee than the ones we usually do. Not that that's a bad thing, but this song seems more...fun. Miss Holliday and Rachel are doing a very good job of performing it, complete with the musical theatre outfits, hats, and guns that shoot sparks at the backdrop. For some reason, I never thought that Rachel would be the sort of person to perform a musical number like this.

I was so, so wrong. We all applaud and cheer like crazy when the song is finished.

We walk together back to the choir room, leaving Rachel and Miss Holliday to quickly change out of their outfits and meet us there. Talking animatedly to each other about the performance, we take our usual seats. While talking to Artie and Brittany, I notice that Mercedes doesn't look very happy about something. Maybe it's about the banning of the Tots in the cafeteria.

Just then, both Miss Holliday and Rachel arrive back into the room, both looking cheerful.

I put my hand up. "Miss Holliday, I'd just like to say to both you and Rachel that the number you performed before was absolutely outstanding."

Miss Holliday smiles at me. "Thanks, Angel." She takes a pad and pen out of her bag. "Right everybody, I think we should start brainstorming for the Sectionals set-list. And remember, think of upbeat, fun songs that we all know!"

I'm just in the middle of discussing song ideas with Tina and Kurt, when Mercedes puts her hand up. "Miss Holliday, may I be excused? I'm going to go and shove some Tots up the tailpipe of Coach Sylvesters's car."

We all stare at her, bewildered. Now, coming from Mercedes, that's a pretty strange question. But even stranger is Miss Holliday's response.

"Sure!" she says, brightly.

I watch as Mercerdes gets up and walks out of the room.

"She's going to know it if she gets caught." I mutter in an undertone to Tina, who nods her head. Kurt is staring after her, looking confused.

Walking to my locker after glee, I swing it open and swap my books around. I'm in the process of shutting it and trying to avoid being knocked around by the other students, when a slight commotion down the end of the hallway catches my eye.

"In my office. Now!" Coach Sylvester is looking furious, holding the door to the principal's office open. I wasn't aware that she had been made principal. But there, walking slowly into the room, her expression morose, is Mercedes. And she's not alone. With her is Miss Holliday.

I look around the crowded hallway. Nobody has taken much notice of the incident, apart from a few glances from some of the nearby students. Trying not to stand out too much, I saunter as casually as I can up to the glass doorway, and lean against the wall, as if I'm waiting for somebody. I might as well have been invisible. If I listen hard enough, I can just distinctly catch a snippet of the conversation.

"You know, what you may not find so funny, Mercedes, is that tampering with an automobile's exhaust is a felony. Rest assured that I will be pressing charges." Coach Sylvester nods, as if to emphasise the situation.

"So...am I going to jail?" Miss Holliday wonders, pointing a finger at herself.

"Mercedes, you are suspended for the rest of the day. Now get the hell out of my office."

Mercedes stands up, swinging her bag onto her shoulder, and walks out of the room. I quickly walk down the hallway, blending in with the rest of the crowd. _It's ironic that she got suspended for the rest of the day,_ I think, _as there are only two more hours or so until school finishes._

Mr Schue is back in glee club the following lesson, standing at the front of the room, looking as pleased as we feel about it. We burst into applause the second he walks into the room. He waves his hands. "Alright, thank you very much guys. Please, take a seat."

We sit down and listen to him continue. "I know you guys liked Miss Holliday, and she was a lot of fun, but she and I agree that this is what was best."

"Don't get us wrong, Mr Schue, we love having you as our teacher. She was just kind of a nice break." Tina says.

"She did loosen us up." Quinn agrees.

"Exactly. We did talk about songs to perform at Sectionals." I remark, nodding.

"And she actually had some good ideas for a sub." Artie adds.

Mr Schue starts handing out sheet music, with the song 'Singin' In The Rain'. "It's actually what inspired me to try this out as a contender for Sectionals. The movie opened in 1952–"

We all look at him blankly.

Seeing our expressions, Mr Schue hurries on. "But the song is really, timeless!"

I stare at him in disbelief.

However, mixing it with Rihanna's 'Umbrella' is actually quite a cool idea. And doing this number in the auditorium, with water splashing round our ankles and raining down on us from above is probably the most fun doing a group number in ages. We've been given an umbrella each, and although it doesn't really help much with keeping the water off, it's still pretty cool to use in a musical number like this.

And I'm having so much fun 'singing in the rain' with the other glee members, I don't even realise how cold and wet I'm getting.

Which is good.

I type an email to my family that night, filling them in about Miss Holliday, and the 'Singing In The Rain' number we did for glee. At the moment, I miss my family. I'm not homesick, as I have had a lot of experience being away from home on school camps before I came to Ohio. I just wish that they were physically here to see what Ohio is like, and what I've been doing. I suddenly realise that in a month, I'm going to be out of here and back home. It's both a happy and sad thought.

For the start of this week's glee meeting, on Monday, we've barely taken our seats, when Kurt bursts into the room, excitement dawned upon his face.

Mr Schue walks into the room placing his bag on top of the piano. "Alright guys, let's get down to business." He stops when he sees Kurt's hand waving in the air. "Yes, Kurt?"

"Mr Schue, if I may?" He doesn't wait for an answer but steps down from the seats and stands, facing us, at the front of the room. I wonder what this is about?

"Long story short, my dad and Finn's mum are getting married." He pauses for a moment, smiling, to acknowledge the "awww"s and the shouts of, "congratulations!" directed at both him and Finn. Finn is looking pretty happy.

Mr Schue looks surprised and happy. "Congratulations, Kurt and Finn!"

Kurt smiles in acknowledgement, and continues. "Which is when I, as the wedding planner, got the idea to hire the New Directions as the band. I know that Sectionals is coming up, but this would mean so much to them. It would make their wedding."

"That's a great idea, Kurt. Finn, do you have anything to say?"

We look round at Finn, who hesitates for a moment. Then, with a grin, he says, "For sure."


	11. A Very Glee Wedding

When the bell rings, Tina, Rachel and I head down the hallway, talking excitedly about the wedding.

"I wonder if they will let me perform a solo when the register is being signed?" Rachel wonders, as Tina and I share a look.

"Rachel, all of us will be performing, and probably as Burt and Carole are walking down the aisle." I reply. "Then, we'll possibly do a number for their first dance, and hopefully get to do some dancing ourselves."

"Especially Mike and I." Tina says, and we all laugh, when something down the corridor catches my eye. I stop laughing as soon as I realise what it is.

"Hey Angel, what–" Tina begins, but as soon as she sees what I do, her mouth opens in horror, Rachel's too.

Kaforsky is standing opposite Kurt, beside the lockers. The way he stands is threatening. _Is he about to beat Kurt up? _I think, as my stomach clenches in fear.

"Can I have this?" he asks, menacingly. Kurt remains silent, looking terrified. I realise that he's holding the bride and groom model, for the top of the cake.

"Thanks." Kaforsky pockets the small statue, and strides purposefully down the corridor.

I'm still standing in the corridor, my legs feeling as though they are lead weights, weighed down with the horrible sight Rachel, Tina and I have just witnessed. Before I can make my way over to Kurt, though, Mr Schue appears out of nowhere, and leads him away.

"We have to do something about this." Tina is still shocked. "We can't just let Kurt suffer because of Kaforsky."

"I agree." I reply. "It's awful how, as soon as Kurt has something to look forward with his dad and Carole getting married, Kaforsky rips it away from him."

"Ladies." Rachel turns to face us. "We need to have a Glee girl's meeting, for those that have boyfriends in the football team. Urgently."

Why Rachel let me come along too, I have no idea.

"We're all lucky enough to have boyfriends in the football team–"

"Apart from me." I interject.

"–I say they band together and confront Kaforsky."

Oh. So this is why. But from what I've been taught, violence is never the answer to anything. And I don't think it will help us solve the problem. It seems that Brittany and Artie are both dating, which is rather strange, to me. But hey, live and let live.

Santana walks into the room, looking rather put out. "Why didn't you tell me there was a glee girl's meeting?"

"This is a meeting for girls with boyfriends in the football team." Rachel replies. Santana looks at me, her expression puzzled. "Then why is Angel here?"

I was actually just about to ask that question myself.

"Because, Angel was a witness, along with Tina and I, to one of Kaforsky's most threatening cases of bullying. As well as that, she's practically been a guardian angel to Kurt."

I smile briefly at Santana. When in doubt, act natural.

"You're _so_ on my list, dwarf." she mutters to Rachel, as she exits the room.

Rachel takes a deep breath and begins to speak again. "If something bad happens to Kurt, and we didn't do anything to stop it, we'll never be able to live with ourselves."

"When someone is getting bullied, it's always horrible for them. But the way Kaforsky does it, it's so much more threatening." I tell Sunshine. We're both sitting in the kitchen, at the table drinking juice, and talking about our day. But once I start to talk about the incident with Kaforsky, the words burst out of me like water out of a dam.

"Haven't the teachers tried to stop it? They should, after all, it's their job." she replies, looking concerned.

Thinking about it now, I realise that none of the teachers, apart from Mr Schue and Sue, know about Kurt and Kaforsky. I don't think they do, anyway.

"Mr Schue has. And Coach Sylvester. But as far as I know, none of the teachers are aware of it."

"What are you going to do about it?" Sunshine wonders.

I _can't_ tell her about Rachel's plan. She probably wouldn't understand.

"We'll figure something out." I say, wishing that we could do something quicker.

I'm shocked. The boys have just walked into the choir room, and Sam is sporting a black eye.

I thought we agreed that violence was never the answer?

"The dude was a wild animal." Mike says angrily, as Tina straightens his jacket.

"Manimal." Artie agrees, also looking a little worse for wear.

"Where were you, Finn?" Santana wonders, shooting a critical glance his way.

"I was still out on the field, I totally would have the beat-down if I'd been there." Even though Finn says it confidently, something tells me that he's pretty uncertain about giving Kaforsky the 'beat-down'. And if Sam got a black eye, there is no way that Finn would have escaped uninjured. However, I agree with Mercedes.

After checking everyone is all right, especially Sam and Kurt, Mr Schue gives us a nod. "All right, everyone, get in your places. We've got a wedding to prepare for!"

We jump off our seats at once, and head to the front of the room. Except for Finn, who looks upset and confused, and waits for a few seconds before following.

Later that day, I'm standing at my locker, when someone taps me on the shoulder. Looking round, I see that it's Kurt, with Burt next to him. Burt is smiling at me, and Kurt is looking very pleased about something.

"Hi, Mr Hummel." I return the smile. "You probably don't know who I am, but–"

"I know who you are, Angel. Kurt told me what you did for him, and I'd just like to say thank you for being such a good friend."

I beam, and feel my face go slightly pink. "Um, thanks, Mr Hummel."

"Call me Burt." He holds out a hand, and I shake it. Turning to Kurt, I ask, "So what are you both doing?"

"I'm taking Dad to his first official dance lessons for the wedding, as taught by me. Finn will be joining us as well."

I grin, and nod. "Sounds like fun. Tell me how you go!"

"I will." Tugging Burt away in the opposite direction towards the choir room, both he and Burt wave at me. I wave back, and head towards the cafeteria, where my friends are waiting.

The wedding is held on Saturday, in the local chapel in town. Mrs Corazon dropped me off outside, with a cheerful, "Have a good wedding. Text me when you want me to pick you up."

I wave until she turns the corner, then make my way inside to find the rest of the glee girls. Big windows line the walls of the foyer, a couple of ushers are buzzing around getting people seated. _I wonder what my wedding will be like?_ I think, as I walk down the hallway to find the rest of the glee girls. It's not hard. The first door I come to has a sign reading, "ND Girl's Dressing Room." Pushing the door open, I spot Mercedes, Tina, and the other girls all wearing similar red dresses, and talking amicably to one another while trying to do their makeup.

"Angel, here's your dress." Quinn hurries over to me, holding another red dress on a coat hanger. "We've got some makeup that you can borrow if you don't have any."

"Thanks. And it's OK, I bought my own makeup bag." I take the dress from her with a smile, and wave my shiny purple makeup bag in the air. Putting the bag down on a chair, I quickly slip into the dress and zip it up the side. It's quite pretty, really, just like what Brittany's wearing except in a smaller size.

"Angel, we don't have to get married too, do we?" Brittany asks, staring at me wide-eyed.

"Um, no Britt, we don't." I shake my head, managing to suppress a laugh. Which is just as well, because I'm applying makeup. "It's just Burt and Carole's wedding."

Brittany sighs. "It's just that I don't want to get married before I turn eighteen."

Before I have the chance to reply, there is a loud knock on the door. Rachel opens it, and we see that it's none other than Mr Schue.

"All right, guys." He claps his hands. "Ready to get this show on the road?"

I nod, determinedly. "Of course."


	12. Journey To Sectionals

The next glee meeting starts, later in the afternoon, and Puck isn't here.

"I heard that he was trying to recruit new members to join us for Sectionals." I tell the room at large.

"I'm telling you, if we lose Sectionals, it will only be because we gave them Kurt. We should not clap." Tina comments.

"If we lose, we should throw possums." Brittany says, glancing at me. "Angel can supply them for us."

I never get the chance to ask why it should be me that would supply the possums, because then Rachel walks into the room with silver tape over her mouth.

When Mr Schue asks her what she's doing, she replies with, "You've silenced my talents, and I'm merely protesting."

I can barely resist the temptation to go over there right there and than and attempt to shake some sense into her head. Just because she didn't get a solo, it's not the end of the world! However, it seems as if she thinks so.

All of a sudden, Mr Schue throws down the pile of sheet music, and shouts at her, making me jump. Making all of us jump, actually. But I agree with him about being a good sport, even though I will be disappointed if we don't win my first singing competition. In a group, that is.

What's even stranger is when Puck walks into the room, and he's not alone. With him is a girl that is, well, quite big. And says that she found Puck in a Porta-Potty, so he let her join the New Directions.

Well, it looks like we have another member to join the team. Which reminds me, don't we need only twelve people for the competition? I put up my hand to ask about this. "Mr Schue, don't we make Unlucky Thirteen?"

"Well, it's true there are thirteen of us, but the show choir rule book does state that a show choir may have the _minimum_ of twelve members to perform, so you needn't worry about that, Angel. And, it has been stated that thirteen can be a lucky number." Mr Schue smiles at me, and claps his hands. "Everyone, let's get to it!"

The students of McKinley High push past me, as I head down the hallway. It's always chaotic when the last bell rings for the end of school, as students depart for the security of their own homes. I usually wait a little while for the students to thin out, that way I can get back to Sunshine's house without being buffeted around too much. Twenty minutes later, I'm just about to head out of the main building when somebody loudly whispers my name from behind.

_I know that voice,_ I think turning round...and I see that it's none other than Kurt, standing there, beaming in his Warbler's blazer.

"Kurt!" I run over to him and give him a hug, which he returns enthusiastically. "What are you doing here?" I step back to get a good look at him. "Aren't you supposed to be at Dalton, perfecting your song in eight-part harmony or whatever?"

"I hope that Rachel would give me some tips on how to audition for a solo, as I'm hoping to do one at Sectionals."

"Wow, that's great!" He looks thrilled with the prospect. "How's life at Dalton?"

He shrugs. "Not too bad, actually. The no-bullying policy there has really helped. Do you think the blazer suits my complexion?"

I grin at him and nod. "Definitely."

He glances down the hallway, which I take as my cue to leave. "Hey Kurt, I really do hope that you get that solo. And I'll see you at Sectionals."

"See you there, Angel." I wave at him as I make my way down the hallway, and out into the bleak sunshine of the winter afternoon.

That evening, Sunshine and I ask Mrs Corazon whose Sectionals competition she's going to go and watch. I was expecting her to say that she'd go to Sunshine's competition (of course), but she totally surprises me by saying, "Well, since Sunshine's performance is in the morning, and Angel's in the afternoon, then I will go to both performances." Between rehearsing for Sectionals, laughing and talking with the Corazons about the upcoming competition, and sending constant emails to my parents to reassure them that I'm all right, the days pass by in a blink.

And now, today is the day of the competition.

I'm about to leave the house, I receive a text from Tessa. Sliding up the screen to read it, I feel a twinge of guilt that I haven't texted or emailed her in days.

**Hey good luck 4 comp!**

**Bet you'll wow them with ur**

**singing skills!**

**Luv T xox**

I swiftly text back a reply.

**Hey thanks, will do! Am v. excited, bit nervous**

**though :P Tell me how it's**

**going in Cch!**

**Love Angel xx**

Sunshine and I hug each other for good luck before we depart to our respective locations, and wish each other good luck with the competition. Mrs Corazon does too. I'm pretty excited about the upcoming competition, even though tiny moths are starting to flutter round in my stomach at the thought of all those people watching us on stage.

The bus ride consists of us ND members talking quietly to each other. Mr Schue does his best to keep us full of enthusiasm, but it isn't really working. I have no idea why we seem so, well, I guess, out of sync is the correct way to put it.

Before I know it, we've arrived at the town hall. We have just enough time to get changed, and us girls to do our makeup and hair, before we settle down to watch the first performance by the Hipsters, the choir group made up of elderly people. One of them is in a wheelchair, and a few of them have walking sticks. Old people are adorable, I think. I clap loudly when the performance is finished, however we shoot looks at each other as if to say, _How can you compete with that?_

The next performance is the Warblers. And they are really good. I look for Kurt on stage and manage to spot him once or twice. Blaine is the lead vocalist, and all the other Warblers provide back-up. So far, I think they have the best chance of winning.

The crowd goes wild when they've finished. Mercedes stands up, and signals us to as well, which we do.

_I hope our performance goes as well as the Warblers', _I think to myself, as the lights flash for half-time.

In the green room, we all seem to be keeping ourselves from losing it and throwing mentals, or whatever.

"I'm totally freaking out, the last time in front of an audience, I went into labour." Quinn comments, looking scared. "I think I'm having post-traumatic stress disorder."

Artie and Brittany seem to be having troubles of their own. Something about Brittany committing adultery, but it seems pretty hard to believe. The moths fluttering in my stomach from this morning have grown bigger in size.

"You told Kurt?" Rachel storms into the green room, glaring at Finn.

"About Finn and Santana? No, I think it was me." Mercedes adds.

Rachel looks furious. "Everybody knew about this but me?"

"Hey guys, at the moment, we've got more important things to worry about than who committed adultery with who." I say, trying to stop the argument from escalating.

"Like Brittany and Mike." Artie mutters, looking angry.

Nobody takes any notice, however. It only stops when Mr Schue comes into the room and tells us in no uncertain terms to pull ourselves together, and also gives us a few words of advice.

Hopefully Rachel and Santana restrain themselves from throwing mentals at each other for the next half-hour. Especially since the lights are flashing, signalling that it's time for us to go onstage.

The moths in my stomach have now turned into great monarch butterflies, flapping their wings around.

Showtime.


	13. Up The Ladder Of Success

Being on stage in front of a big audience feels amazing. As the curtain comes up for our first song, Quinn and Sam leading us at the front, I feel elated. I'm dancing in front of Lauren, and to put it this way, I'm having the time of my life. Just like the song we're performing now. Finishing on a high note, we get a standing ovation, and I realise that I'm not nervous any more. The butterflies have disappeared.

'Valerie' is a great song to dance to, and not just for us background dancers. Brittany and Mike do an amazing dance routine that has the crowd applauding like crazy. I dance in a group with the other glee girls, beside Tina, and find myself wondering briefly if Mrs Corazon can see me on stage. Probably.

When our performance is finished, the audience goes wild, again. I grin, and look round at the other New Directions members, who look really happy.

Now we just have to find out the winner.

We tie with the Warblers.

We both get to go to Regionals! Well, I won't be here, but the other members will.

All those rehearsals have definitely paid off. I'm ecstatic. We all clap, thrilled with the prospect of moving on. 'Up the ladder of success,' as my dad would say.

Which means that we're pretty darn successful!

Mrs Corazon is waiting outside in her car, after I've collected my gear and said goodbye to the other glee members. I clamber inside and smile at her. She smiles back.

"Congratulations, Angel! You get to go to the Regionals, you must feel proud!"

"Thanks. And yes, I do feel proud. Do you know if Sunshine won her Sectionals?"

She shakes her head. "No, I'm not sure. I had to leave early so I could see your performance."

"Oh." I can't help but remember what Sunshine told me about Dustin Gooldsby. "_Vocal Adrenaline have won their Sectionals competitions over and over again, so he has to keep up the reputation_."

Taking that into consideration, Vocal Adrenalie would definitely have won.

I was not wrong. Sunshine bursts into the kitchen with a huge smile on her face. I spring up from my chair, my phone lying on the table from texting Tess to tell her the good news.

"We won Sectionals, Angel! We won!" She does a victory dance round the table, then looks at me. "What about you?"

I laugh. "Totally! So did we!"

She squeals and gives me a hug. She and I both jump up and down on the spot, both of us thrilled. Then her face falls a little bit. "But you won't be here for Reigonals. Aren't you sad?"

I shrug. "Well, I've been to my first Sectionals competition, which was pretty exciting. So I'm not really sad."

Mrs Corazon calls us for dinner. We sit round the table, talking about our competitions in great detail, and Mrs Corazon tells us how she enjoyed both of our performances.

The following day, Mr Schue brings in our trophy. Even though it should be a happy occasion for us, I can't help but notice that Finn and Rachel seem unhappy. No surprises there, as Mercedes has told me that they've broken up. Apparently Miss Pillsbury and the dentist Carl have got married, which Mr Schue is unhappy about. When he asks Rachel is she'd like to solo, in order to celebrate our win, I can't believe her response is in the negative.

Instead she says, "I'd like to defer it to this week's three unsung heroes. Mercedes, Angel and Tina."

Mercedes, Tina and I grin at each other.

The next minute, we're standing in the auditorium, us three at the front of the stage, and the rest of the New Directions backstage. Tina sings first:

_Happiness hit her,_

_Like a train on a track_

Mercedes is the next person to sing.

_Coming towards her,_

_Stuck still, no turning back_

Both of them sing together:

_She hid around corners, and she hid under beds,_

_She killed it with kisses, and from it she fled,_

Then it's time for my part.

_The dog days are over, the dog days are done,_

_The horses are coming, so you better run!_

With that, all the New Directions join in, running up on stage to sing together.

_Run fast for your mother and fast for your father,_

_Run for your children, for your sisters, and your brothers,_

_Leave all your loving, your loving behind,_

_You can't carry it with you if you wanna survive,_

_The dog days are over, the dog days are done,_

_The horses are coming, so you better run!_

Tina and I sing the next part in turns:

_And I, never wanted_

_Anything from you,_

_Except everything you had, and_

_What was left after that too, oh,_

After the chorus, the other glee members come together to form a group around us. Mercedes, Tina and I all take a bow at the end.

One big family, that's us.


	14. Christmas Spirit

So here it is. My final week in Ohio, and with the New Directions. Even though I'm looking forward to going home and seeing my family again, I feel as if I don't want to leave. I thought that, at the end, I would perform a number for the New Directions to say goodbye, even though it will probably be one of the hardest things for me to do. And I also need to get something for Sunshine and Mrs Corazon to say thank you for having me.

Not to mention getting something to bring back for Mum, Dad and Tessa.

But even though the fact that I'm leaving at the end of this week should make me sad, something fails to put a damper on my mood. And that something is the start of December. Christmas time.

We're in the choir room, having decided to put up a Christmas tree, which we are now decorating. While singing, which I think is pretty cool. 'The Most Wonderful Day Of The Year' is one of my favourite Christmas songs, as it was on a Christmas CD that Tess and I used to listen to when decorating our tree at home. Even the band is wearing Christmas jerseys and hats.

Mr Schue arrives in the choir room just as the song finishes, and asks where everything here came from. Finn says that the tree was found on the side of the road, the box of decorations was brought in by Santana, and the presents were empty boxes wrapped up, stolen from the display at the mall by Puck.

"This isn't what Christmas is supposed to be about." Mr Schue tells us. "It's about being grateful for the things you did. And this year, we're going to go from classroom to classroom, singing carols."

"Classroom to classroom?" Tina asks, sounding wary.

"We're going to be killed." Quinn says.

Finn, however, is adamant, and Mr Schue agrees with him. "This year, Glee club is going full Santa! And Angel," he says, turning to me, "this is your last week here. Let's make it special."

I smile and nod, even though a part of me is thinking that singing carols around the school is going to turn out anything but special.

It turns out just as I predicted. We make like true carol singers, swaying from side to side and everything, but the other students heckle us, like I thought they would.

"You suck!"

"Who goes carolling with a band?"

"I'd seriously rather be learning."

"You're making me hate Christmas!"

Only three verses into the chorus, and the teacher throws her shoe at us. It hits the drum kit, bringing an abrupt stop to the carolling. We rush out of the classroom, the students yelling abuse at us.

So much for spreading Christmas cheer.

"I can't believe the teacher let her students speak to us like that." Rachel says angrily, taking her coat off.

"I can't believe she threw a shoe at us." Puck comments, looking downcast.

"Angel, I'm really sorry. This isn't a great start to your last week here." Tina says, patting me on the shoulder comfortingly.

I shrug. "It's OK. I wasn't expecting them to start smiling and throwing candy at us, but then again, I guess we're pretty dysfunctional, too."

Finn again, states that we should keep our heads up, and not let this get us down, which I agree with.

"I asked Santa Claus this year for the glee club to stop getting picked on." Brittany states, turning away to hang up a stocking.

We glance at each other in confusion, when Artie mutters, "Guys, this is serious. Listen up." Gathering in a circle round him, with the exception of Brittany, we listen to what he has to say.

"Brittany still believes in Santa Claus." he says. My eyes widen with surprise. Surely he can't be serious. The other glee members seem to think so, too. Lauren decides that Puck should tell her Santa isn't real, but Puck disagrees. "I'm cruel and all, but that's just hardcore."

"I was about eleven, when I discovered Santa isn't real, and I never got over the initial shock of finding out that my parents had been lying to me about his existence." I explain. "But this is something else."

Artie, however, has the idea that we should keep Brittany believing in Santa, just for a little while longer. I can't understand the reason behind it, but I think that he just wants to make her happy.

Which is the reason why, today after school, we're standing in the queue for 'Santa's Land', along with little kids who want to go and see Santa. I have absolutely no idea why I agreed to do this, because in normal circumstances, unless I got a couple of free candy canes, I'd be out of here.

Quinn, too, is in doubt. "Do we have to sit on Santa's lap? Santa's laps are always really warm, and it's creepy."

"Yeah." I agree. "Santa is also not a good role model for younger kids. For a start, he drinks beer and drives his sleigh straight afterwards. That is not something to be proud of."

Artie doesn't listen to us, and gestures to Mercedes to go first. Mercedes rolls her eyes, but does so. Brittany bounces up and down with excitement. I walk over to where Brittany is standing.

"So Angel, which one of Santa's reindeer is you favourite?" Brittany asks happily. "Besides Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer."

"Erm..." I think for a moment before answering, wanting to humour her. "Donner. Because he's always rocking out to Jingle Bells, which anyone knows is his favourite song." Brittany laughs. "What about you?"

"Dancer, because he loves to dance. And so do I, I danced at Sectionals with Mike and we won."

"So we did." I agree, watching the line to see whose turn it is to go and see Santa. As each member has their turn, they ask for random, different things. Sam wants Chapstick, Mike wants Channing Tatum to stop being in stuff, and Tina wants to know when Asian Santa is going to arrive.

My turn now. Oh, great. What the hell am I going to ask for?

I sit on his lap, hearing a cheerful, 'Ho ho ho." _May as well get straight to it,_ I decide.

"Hey Santa, for Christmas, I need a big favour. Can you please bring me a new make-up bag, preferably from Strawberry Net, though I'm not too fussed about the brand. And some make-up inside would be a double bonus, so that I can give my sister my old stuff, as she hardly has any." I finish. The guy nods at me. "Cheers, mate." I get off his lap and hurry over to the rest of the New Directions.

Then it's Brittany's turn.

We all watch with bated breath, as she sits on Santa's lap. "I know you're really busy, so, I only want one thing for Christmas. Do you see my boyfriend over there?" She points towards Artie, who smiles and waves at her. "I want him to be able to walk."

_Woah._ This is _not_ what we were expecting.

Artie looks stunned. As do the rest of us.

"You can do that, can't you, Santa?" Brittany asks. After a long pause, Santa answers.

"Sure. I'm on it."

"Now we're screwed." Artie says, as Brittany gives Santa a hug.

Hmm. Make that an understatement!

That evening, Sunshine and I give Mrs Corazon a hand at putting up the Christmas tree, in the living room. I stand on a chair, trying not to stack it into the tree, and manage to fix the large silver star on top. Sunshine puts the Christmas wreath on the door and drapes tinsel around the branches, and Mrs Corazon alternates between hanging lights on the tree and taking photos of us decorating the tree. It looks really good when it's finished.

"At our house, our tree wouldn't even be up yet, even though every year I try to persuade my parents to put it up earlier." I comment, standing back to get a good view.

Mrs Corazon smiles at me. "Are you happy to be going back home?"

I nod. "I am, but at the same time, it's quite sad, really. Saying goodbye to both of you, and everyone in the glee club is going to be really hard."

Sunshine nods, sympathetically. "It will be hard, but it's not like you can never keep in touch with us again. We have Facebook, remember?"

I smile. "Yeah, we do."

Together, we stand back to survey the tree, the coloured lights glinting magnificently, lighting up the tree, with the silver star shining on top.


	15. How The Grinch Stole Christmas

Mr Schue stands at the front of the room, about to make an important announcement. "Listen up, everyone. As you know, the staff have a Secret Santa every Christmas. However, this year, Coach Sue shook things up a little bit by claiming every single gift as hers."

"I'm sorry?" I ask in disbelief, leaning forward in my seat. "Did she rig Secret Santa or something, cause that is just not cool."

The rest of the New Directions nod their agreement. "So," Mr Schue continues, "We have decided to donate all the presents to the homeless kids, and will put them under the tree. At the end of the week, I'm going to drop them off to the correct charity organisation."

"That's a great idea, Mr Schue." Finn says enthusiastically.

While the rest of the meeting carries on, I'm attempting to brainstorm presents to bring back home for my family, and to give to the Corazons. I have no idea _how_ to say a huge thank-you to the Corazons, because they've done so much for me these past three months, and I have no idea what to get that sums up how grateful I am.

I also still need to find presents for my family, and sort out a song to perform for the glee club. Mum and Dad will be easy to buy for, but Tessa is a bit harder. If only I can think of something...

Suddenly, the answer comes to me in a stroke of inspiration.

We're dismissed from the choir room. I pick up my bag and hurry over to Quinn and Santana. "Hey guys," I begin, standing in front of them. "I normally wouldn't ask, but would you mind helping me with something?"

"Anything that beats singing lousy Christmas carols in front of an unfriendly crowd is definitely something that I'm in for." Santana comments.

I take a deep breath and continue. "I'm looking for a present for my older sister to bring back from Ohio. She's really into cheerleading stuff, so since you're both on the Cheerios, I figured that you'd know what I could give her." I look at both of them, wondering if they'd be able to come up with an answer.

Quinn does. "I have the perfect idea."

We sneak into the gym, checking left and right to see if Coach Sylvester is lurking around, ready to berate us for celebrating the Christmas Spirit, or whatever. She isn't, so we walk quickly across the gym, to the store room that belongs to the Cheerios.

"Here we are." Quinn pushes the door open, and Santana and I enter the small room. I take a good look round. Shelves are piled high with what looks like spare megaphones and pom-poms. Spare cheerleading outfits and red and white striped festive socks hang from a rail at the back of the room.

"Wow." is all I can think to say as I look around the room. "You guys have a lot of stuff in here."

"Coach Sylvester hardly ever uses most of this stuff. Why she stocks up on it every year, I have no idea." Santana says, glancing at everything with disinterest.

Quinn picks something off one of the shelves and hands it to me with a smile, "Here you go."

"A pom-pom?" I shake it around, watching the dust settle into the air around us. I grin at her and Santana. "Won't Sue notice it's gone missing?"

"We hardly ever use them, anyways, so no." Santana affirms, handing me the other pom-pom. Both of them are red, and have red and white striped handles. I can just picture Tessa waving them around the house come Christmas day.

"Thanks, guys. That's a real help." I give both of them a good shake to get all the dust off.

"Make sure Coach Sue doesn't see them." Quinn advises, as we turn to leave the room.

"Oh, she won't." I say, as I push the door open, and tiptoe out of the gym, with the pom-poms in each hand.

What the hell?

_No._

_Surely _people can't hate us this much?

But the truth is, it looks as if they do.

The rest of the New Directions and I are standing in the choir room the next day, staring at the wreckage of our Christmas spirit. Our Christmas Tree doesn't even resemble a tree any more. Just a huge pile of branches, with discarded wrapping paper strewn amongst them. The presents we brought along to give to the homeless kids have been stolen, the lights we put up are now dangling from the ceiling, flickering feebly, and each of our stockings is lying beside the piano in a heap.

What have we done to deserve this?

Mr Schue walks in, whistling, but stops when he sees the extent of the damage.

"This is only further proof that everyone in this school hates us, no matter what we do." Rachel says angrily.

"it's not the school. It's Sue." Mr Schue says, walking to stand beside the piano to get a better look at the damage.

Brittany, however, is convinced that it was Santa, coming in to repair a broken light. I can't help but be reminded of the book 'How The Grinch Stole Christmas' by Dr Suess, which is surprisingly accurate given the circumstances.

Finn won't let this stand in our way, however. "All around the world today, way worse things have happened to people than this. 'Tis the season."

Mr Schue agrees with him. "Come on guys, let's clean this mess up."

Which we do. I pick up all the stockings and put them in a neat pile on top of the piano, then move to sweeping up the branches off the Christmas tree. Lauren and Puck are arguing over what flavour chocolate they like best, and Brittany is telling anyone who listens very imaginative facts about Christmas ("Did you know that reindeer are just gay stags?") while I mull over the possibilities of what song I'm going to perform for the glee club. Lost in my train of thought, I don't realise that Tina and Mike are there until they're standing right in front of me.

"Hey guys, what's up?" I wonder, sweeping up the last of the branches and turning to face them.

"We were wanting to know if you wanted to come to the mall for Christmas shopping with us after school?" Tina asks. "We heard that you needed to buy stuff for the Corazons and for your family."

I smile at them both and nod. "Thanks, I'd like that."

"We usually get tired of waiting for so-called Asian Santa to bring us gifts, so we do it ourselves." Mike affirms.

Tina and I laugh.

So after school that day, we go to the mall and get our shopping done. I decide to make a collage of photos of Sunshine and I, put it in a frame and give it to her. For Mrs Corazon, a bouquet of flowers and a cookbook (as Sunshine told me, "She loves to cook."). And for my parents, an American-style cap for Dad, and a set of fridge magents for Mum with pictures of America's famous landmarks.

Tina and Mike are browsing through a collection of CD's in one of the shops, while I stand inside the entrance to the shop, having a look round. Christmas carols are blaring out of the speakers like in every other shop. I'm standing slightly nodding my head and hoping I don't look like a total idiot, when a Christmas song that I know from my childhood comes on. I stop nodding my head and listen properly, remembering when I used to listen to it when I was little. The song brings back memories from my early Christmases with my family at home.

And, just like that, I've found my song I'm going to perform for glee.


	16. PomPoms And Other Miracles

I manage to smuggle the presents for the Corazons home pretty easily. No surprises there, considering that I took the bus home, then just put their presents in a large bag. I'm halfway up the stairs, when Sunshine appears at the bottom of the staircase.

"Hey, Angel! What did you buy?" She peers at the bags, as if hoping that she can get a clue about what's inside. "Sorry. I'm just nosy."

"I'll put my bags in my room then I'll show you what I got for my family."

I quickly sort out my bags, and return to Sunshine's room with the gifts for my parents and Tessa. The pom-poms were hidden in my suitcase. She seems appreciative over the fridge magnets and the cap, and laughs when I produce the pom-poms.

"Oh my God, Tessa will love these!" She experimentally gives one a little shake, and sneezes when yet more dust drifts into the air. _How much dust can one pom-pom hold?_ _Coach Sue must have had these for a while._

"I'll have to shake it out the window." I tell her, and do so. We both laugh as I nearly drop one into the garden below.

That evening, I'm very busy with Sunshine's present. I manage to print out some photos of her and I without anyone making inquiries, and spend pretty much the whole evening in my room glueing, cutting and sticking. The collage looks great when it's finished. _I hope she'll like it,_ I think, as I wrap up both presents and hide them in my wardrobe.

At the next glee meeting, desperate times call for desperate measures. Mercedes came up with the idea that we have to do something to help the homeless kids, namely using 'Gift Of The Magi' as an example. The boys are going to sell their watches. And us girls? We're going to sell off our hair.

"I'm going to look terrible." Quinn retorts.

"Barbra can pull off a bob, so can I." says Rachel fiercely, combing through her hair one last time.

"My parents are going to flip out when I come back home and they see that I've cut all my hair off." I comment, sighing. I _really_ don't want to sell off my hair, but I know I have to, for the homeless kids. "But I know it will be worth it."

"Enough yapping. Let's do this." Santana says, pulling back her ponytail and getting ready to cut her hair.

Mr Schue arrives in the room, just in time to stop Santana from committing the chop. Mercedes explains our idea, which gets us talking about Gift Of The Magi. He wants to know if any of us have read it.

"Mr Schue, I have no idea what it's about." I tell him.

He comes and takes a seat among us. It's as if he's stopped being the teacher, and is one of us students, and begins to talk about how, as we grow older, Christmas becomes less magical. For a fleeting second, I remember running round in the garden with Tessa after Christmas dinner, happy and not having a care in the world. But now, for us, Christmas is just another day of the year.

"So what should we do?" Sam wonders.

"Put you scissors down, put your watches back on, and let's go and find some people who really need some Christmas spirit." Mr Schue instructs us.

Sounds like an amazing idea to me. I think we all do.

Standing in the staffroom in front of Quinn and Rachel, wearing green scarves and maroon snowflake jackets, I take a look around at the teachers as Finn makes an introductory speech. All of them seem happy to have us sing for them, especially Miss Pillsbury and Principal Figgins. I notice that Coach Sylvester isn't here, which is a relief in a way. She'd probably start throwing things at us, or something.

When we begin to sing, the teachers come up to the front one by one and make a donation. Miss Pillsbury, Principal Figgins, Mr Jones the Biology teacher, and many of the other staff members. The fact that we've been able to make everything right again, even though we've had a rather hard week, makes me feel really happy. And spreading Christmas joy by singing for the staff members is a great way to do it.

As we head back to the choir room, I remain silent. This is my last glee club meeting, and I have no idea what to expect from it. Mostly because the goodbye I'm going to say to the New Directions will be really hard for me to do. As we make our way into the choir room, something in the middle of the room makes me stop and stare in awe. When I realise what it is, I can't stop myself from smiling.

For the first time that I've seen, Artie is standing up. Brittany has her hands pressed to her mouth in excitement. Taking a closer look, I see that his legs are strapped to what looks like crutches.

"It's called a ReWalk." Artie informs us, smiling. "I can't use it all the time but, check me out." Pressing a button on one of the crutches, he manages to take a few tiny steps across the room. All I can do is beam at him as I remember Brittany's Christmas wish for him to be able to walk again.

Nobody, including Brittany and Artie, has any idea where it came from.

Except...

"Santa brought it." Brittany says with certainty.

"Santa." I repeat, quietly.

We watch Artie take a few more steps. He looks thrilled with being able to walk again.

After a couple of minutes, Mr Schue gets us all sitting down. "Now everyone, as you know, this is Angel's last glee club meeting." I give a half-smile as the other glee members "aww" in disappointment, but I laugh as Mercedes, sitting next to me, gives me a one-armed hug while sitting down. Mr Schue continues. "Angel, we have loved having you here for these past three months–"

"Mr Schuester?" I interrupt, putting my hand up. "I have a number that I'd like to perform for the glee club."

Mr Schue nods and sits down as I make my way to the front of the room and sit down on a stool facing the New Directions.

"I think that this is going to be one of the hardest goodbyes that I've ever said in my life, because over three months, you guys have been such great friends to me. And Mr Schue, you've been a great teacher." I add. "Even though I'm looking forward to going back to New Zealand, I'm going to be sad not seeing you all in the choir room every day, and I'm going to miss you all so much."

The rest of the glee club look sad. Mercedes and Quinn in particular.

"So," I continue, "I've come up with a song to perform to you all, to say goodbye. It's a Christmas song, one from my childhood that I remember." I nod at the band and say, "Hit it."

As the band starts to play, I take a deep breath and start to sing. Memories flood back into my head from when I was little, and it's like a relieving that Christmas all over again.

_I'm dreamin' tonight of a place I love _

_Even more then I usually do, _

_And although I know it's a long road back _

_I promise you, _

_I'll be home for Christmas _

_You can count on me, _

_Please have snow and mistletoe _

_And presents under the tree _

_Chris__tmas Eve will find me _

_Where the love light beams, _

_I'll be home for Christmas _

_If only in my dreams. _

_Christmas Eve will find me _

_Where the love light beams, _

_I'll be home for Christmas _

_If only in my dreams. _

_If only in my dreams._

The glee club burst into applause when I'm finished. Even though I'm smiling, inside I'm trying desperately hard not to cry. I'm going to really miss being in the New Directions.

Especially now since Mercedes is giving me a proper hug this time, with, "Get in here, girl." And the rest of the glee club have joined in. Yes, even Puck.

I never thought that I'd ever be the victim of a group hug. Looks like I was wrong.


	17. Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas

On the day before I leave, the rest of the New Directions and I have one final get-together. At Mr Schue's house. Why Coach Sylvester has come over all festive-season-ish, I have no idea. It's a little hard to comprehend, seeing that it was her who ruined our Glee Christmas tree in the first place. But yet she's re-wrapped all the gifts for the homeless kids, and put them under the tree in Mr Schuester's living room. Grouped all together in the kitchen, we're able to catch a bit of the conversation:

"How did you get in here?" Mr Schue wants to know, bewildered.

"Oh, I had the key made ages ago." Coach Sue replies, seeming unconcerned.

I stifle a laugh.

After Sue has explained that she's sorry for taking the gifts for the homeless kids, she blows the whistle; our cue to come out of the kitchen and start decorating the tree. Hanging candy canes on the tree, I take a look around the room. The other ND members are talking and laughing, as more decorations are hung one by one on the tree. Fifteen minutes later, we've finished, and the tree looks wonderful. Then Coach Sue turns to me.

"Now Angelfish, since you have to go back overseas to wherever you're from–"

"New Zealand." I interject.

"The Glee Club, including Mr Schue, and surprisingly, myself, are sad to see you go. Yes, even though I have taken particular pleasure in ruining your festive spirit this week, I think that you do deserve to have a proper goodbye."

"Take a seat." Rachel says, smiling at me. I sit down, and she continues. "We've put together a song for you, which also involves–" The doorbell rings, interrupting her. "Oh, I wonder who _that_ might be?" she wonders aloud, using a particular amount of emphasis on the sentence.

She hurries to the door to get it, and returns a moment later with...Kurt and Blaine, in their Dalton blazers. I can feel a smile spreading over my face as I look at them, as I did definitely not expect them to be here. They grin back at me.

"As Rachel was saying, the song we'll be performing also involves us Warblers." Kurt comments, glancing around the living room at the Christmas tree, and at Coach Sylvester and Mr Schue.

"Too much talking, Porcelain, now get to the singing part." Sue replies, gesturing for them to start. Which they do. Rachel presses the Play button on the stereo, and music fills the room.

_Have yourself a merry little Christmas,_

_Let your heart be light_

_From now on,_

_All your troubles will be out of sight._

Rachel moves into the centre of the group as she sings the first verse. The rest of the New Directions (and Warblers) provide back-up harmonies as the song goes on.

_Have yourself a merry little Christmas,_

_Make the Yuletide gay_

_From now on,_

_Your troubles will be miles away._

Singing the next verse, Mercedes comes to stand beside Rachel. It's hard to stop smiling as I watch my friends perform such a special song for me.

_Here we are, as in olden days_

_Happy golden days of yore,_

_Faithful friends who are dear to us_

_Gather near to us once more_

The whole of the New Directions join together in singing the last verse.

_Through the years we all will be together,_

_If the fates allow_

_But 'til then we'll have to muddle through..._

_Somehow_

_And have yourself a merry little Christmas now._

As the song finishes, once again I'm smiling at them, but trying really hard not to cry. I have no idea what's wrong with me, but it's just that I'm really sad to be leaving my friends in the New Directions. Luckily, Kurt seems to take the hint.

"Oh Angel, come here." He hurries round to where I'm sitting and pulls me into a tight hug. The rest of the glee members laugh and 'aww' at us, grinning.

And this time, I don't even try to stop the tears from leaking onto Kurt's blazer as the rest of the New Directions gather round, Blaine included, for another group hug.

I give the presents to the Corazons that evening. Mrs Corazon is overjoyed with the bouquet of flowers and the cookbook. Sunshine seems to be even more with the collage that I made her. She gazes at it in wonder at all the photos. Us decorating the Christmas tree, silly photos that we took when we were bored (which includes the peace sign and everything) and many more.

"I'm going to frame this and put it on my bedroom wall." Sunshine says in awe, turning it around to get a good look at all the photos, her face lighting up as she looks at it. "Angel, this is lovely! Thank you so much." She gives me yet another hug, which I return.

"It's OK, Sunny. I had fun making it." I take a look around the living room at the Christmas tree, the fire burning in the fireplace. At home, it's summer. Come Christmas Day, Tess and I would be going for a swim in the pool in the afternoon, while the adults chatted outside with a glass of wine about the holiday.

In a couple of days, I'll be home again.

Mrs Corazon gets both Sunshine and I up very early to drive me to the airport. Let's say it's about three o'clock in the morning. I had told Sunshine that she didn't have to come, but she insisted. "I'm going to say goodbye to one of my best friends, so of course I'm coming along with you!" she says, as I make sure that everything is packed. The pom-poms and other presents for my family are snugly wrapped in my dark blue jacket in my suitcase. I check that I have my phone. Yes, in my pocket. I heave my blue and gold suitcase upright, sling my bag over my shoulder and wheel my suitcase down the stairs. Sunshine carries my other, smaller bag for me, which is nice of her. I take one last look at the house, before Mrs Corazon shuts the door behind me, and we're on our way to the airport.

"It's going to be sad in a way, not seeing you every day." Mrs Corazon says as she gives me a hug goodbye. As we break apart, I grin at her. "It's probably going to be a relief for you that you won't have to put up with me again." She and Sunshine laugh.

Then it's time for Sunshine and I to say goodbye to each other. We hug each other tightly, one last time. "I'm really going to miss you, Angel. Promise that you'll keep in touch?"

I nod. "I promise." Grinning, I add, "And tell me how many competitions you win with Vocal Adrenaline!"

"Of course I will!" Sunshine laughs at me.

The loudspeaker above us crackles into action. "Passengers travelling to Christchurch, New Zealand, please check in with the flight attendants and prepare to board the plane at seven hundred hours."

Time for me to get going.

"Bye Mrs Corazon, and Sunshine. Thank you so much for having me these past three months." I hug each of them one last time, before turning away to check in. The flight attendant smiles reassuringly at me, as if she knows that it can't be easy having to say goodbye to friends, and travelling by yourself to another country.

"Travelling to Christchurch, New Zealand." she mutters as she checks my flight details. "All clear, go on through." She hands me back my passport and nods at me.

I gather my suitcase and bags together, and take one last look at the Corazons. Mrs Corazon, looking sad, but smiling at me, as if mentally wishing me a safe flight home. Sunshine, grinning, mimes drawing a halo round her head, then makes a 'C' with her right hand, points at me, makes an 'L' with her hand, then holds up eight fingers. I grin back at her. Code for, _Angel, see you later._ They both wave at me. I wave back, then struggle on with my bags and suitcase, until the sight of them is lost.

_It's really strange arriving the exact same time I left Ohio,_ I think, as the plane touches the ground in Christchurch. The flight itself was much the same as when I came to Ohio, except I wasn't nervous about anything. I re-read the book that Mum got me for Christmas, as I had finished reading it at the Corazon's. And right now, I'm thinking about how much I've missed my friends and family since I've been away.

As I enter the airport, which is actually rather quiet instead of the usual hustle and bustle, I catch sight of my family, standing beside an information sign. Tessa, looking round, sees me and waves. I wave back at her, smiling as I see Mum and Dad waving madly, too. Before I know it, I'm rushing over to my parents and hugging them both tightly.

"Mum! Dad! I've missed you both so much!" I announce, glancing at the expressions on their faces. My parents are beaming at me. "We've missed you too, Angel." Mum says, hugging me back.

I let go of them, and envelope a startled Tessa in another hug. "I've missed you too, Tess." I tell her. "You are not going to _believe_ what I've bought you back from Ohio! I had so much fun over there..."

"Let's get going, and you can tell us about in the car." Dad says, smiling, "and you can tell us more at home, too." He hoists my suitcase upright and begins to wheel it towards the exit.

"Right." I agree, picking up my big bag. Mum takes my small bag, and she and Tess walk beside me. "So you had a lot of fun with the New Directions?" Mum asks me, as we follow Dad towards the exit.

"Yeah." I say, as the automatic doors close behind us and suddenly we're out in the big wide world. "I sure did."


End file.
